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Number Three 




PRICE FIFTEEN CENTS 




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Clje HitergiDe !ltterature ^mt!$ 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES 
STANDISH 



HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW 



ARRANGED IN SEVEN SCENES 



PARLOR THEATRICALS AND SCHOOL EXHIBITIONS 




, .V--«^P?'«.i'^*rf%> 



V 



;ep 17 1S33 ff 



BOSTON 
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 

New York : 11 East Seventeenth Street 

(Cfec JSiUer^ibe IDre^ Camliritige 
1883 






Copyright, 1858, 
By henry WADSWORTII LONGFELLOW. 

Copyright, 1883, 
- Bx HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO. 



All rights reserved. 



The Riverside Press, Cambridge: 
Electrotyped and Printed by IL 0. Houghton & Co. 



PEEFATORY NOTE. 



In arranging Longfellow's Courtship of Miles Stand- 
ish for the amateur stage, the attempt has been made to 
adhere to the original as closely as possible. 

We have placed in brackets those portions of the 
poem which, though not a part of the drama, give Mr. 
Longfellow's own conceptions of the surroundings and 
feelings of the actors. We have tried to make our de- 
scriptions of costumes historically accurate, and have been 
actuated throughout by a desire to be truthful to history 
and to the spirit of the poem. 

It seems to us that children and grown people are 
likely to learn more, both from a literary and from an 
historical standpoint, by becoming familiar with con- 
nected portions of a beautiful poem like this than by 
learning shorter pieces of poetry which, though excel- 
lent in themselves, do not form parts of a complete 
whole. 

We believe the plot of the play to be so interesting 
that, for the sake of the story alone, the play will be 
eagerly listened to at School Exhibitions and Private 
Theatricals. 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH. 

ARRANGED FOR DRAMATIC REPRESENTATION. 



CHARACTERS. 

Miles Standish, the Captain of Plymouth. 
John Alden, Standish' s Secretary. 
Priscilla, a Puritan Maiden. 

Elder, Magistrate, Messengers, Indian, Pilgrims in 
Council, Wedding Guests. 



COSTUMES. 



In 1620, the time to which this play refers, neck wraps, cloaks, 
and furs were freely used. Colors were all of domestic dye, 
butternut, blue, green, black, and gray ; white and red were little 
used. The men wore their hair moderately long, about down to 
the shoulders. 

John Alden. Short-waisted, full-skirted coat, with broad linen 
collar and cuffs. Full, loose knee-breeches, long stockings, low, 
open-sided shoes tied with string or narrow ribbon. Broad- 
brimmed, high-crowned hat. Ordinary suit to be of domestic 
dyed serge. Best suit to be of finer stuff, perhaps of velveteen, 
with bows of silk at knees and on shoes, and broad sash tied 
under the left shoulder-blade high up under the arms. Collar 
and cuffs to be trimmed with lace. 

Miles Standish. First suit like that of John Alden's ordi- 
nary suit, with the exception of boots in place of shoes. Short 
cloak. Second suit : buff coat in place of ordinary coat, gloves, 
lobster-tail helmet or a morion in place of hat. "Wears around his 
shoulders a powder-flask and a baldrick. 



b LONGFELLOW. 

Prtscilla. Short-wjiisted dress, with tabs at belt, and full 
straight, short skirt, long pointed collar and cuffs. Carefully 
plaited apron. Cap. Low, open-sided shoes. 

Indian. Long leggius and breech-cloth. Cloak of deer-skin. 
Moccasins. 

Elder. Long, straight, full black gown, with clerical tie or 
ruff. Black skull-cap. 

Messenger. Like Alden's, but simpler. 



ANALYSIS OF SCENES: PROPERTIES. 
Scene I. Miles sends John to Priscilla. 
Scene : A room in Standish's house, with window and exit. 
Properties : Arms, bright and clean, hanging on the wall, in- 
cluding a Danjascus sword and a steel breast-plate. ( Other arms 
referred to in lines 7-10 will be appropriate, but not necessary.) 
Book-shelf on the wall, containing a few large and well-worn 
books ; pine table ; paper, ink-horn, quills ; a small bouquet of 
Mayflowers on table ; two or more chairs. 

Scene II. John delivers Miles's message to Priscilla. 
Scene: Room in Priscilla's house, with window and exit. 
Properties : Two or more chairs ; spinning-wheel ; carded snow- 
white wool ; psalm-book. 

Scene III. John brings Priscilla's answer back to Miles; a 

Messenger summons Miles. 

Scene : Same as in Scene I. 

Properties : Same as in Scene I., omitting the bunch of May, 
flowers. 

Scene IV. Miles, Elder, Indian, middle-aged men assembled in 

Council. 

Scene : Roughly furnished Puritan-like room, with chairs and 
tables. 

Properties: Rattlesnake skin "filled like a quiver with arrows." 
Powder and bullets. 

Scene V. John in trouble and doubt. Conversation between 
John and Priscilla. 
Scene: Out of doors. 



COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH. 7 

Scene VI. John and Priscilla interrupted by Messenger. 
Scene : Same as in Scene II. 
Properties : Same as in Scene II. and snowy skein of yarn. 

Scene VII. John, Priscilla, Elder, Friends. Wedding inter- 
rupted by Miles. 
Scene : Room in Puritan dwelling. 

[Where elaborateness of detail is not required two folding 
screens may be used to form a scene. A good imitation of a 
window may be made by painting black lines, to represent sash 
and casing, on a piece of sky-blue cloth. Costumes can be read- 
ily improvised where it is not possible to obtain them as described 
on pages 5 and 6. John Alden may wear the same suit in all the 
scenes, if necessary.] 



THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH. 

ARRANGED FOR DRAMATIC REPRESENTATION. 



Such portions of the Poem as throw light on the surround- 
ings and feelings of the actors have been inserted in brackets and 
printed in smaller type. 



Scene I. Standish's House. 

[In the Old Colony days, in Plymouth the land of the Pil- 
grims, 
To and fro in a room of his simple and primitive dwelling. 
Clad in doublet and hose, and boots of Cordovan leather. 
Strode, with a martial air. Miles Standish the Puritan Cap- 
tain. 
Buried in thought he seemed, with liis hands beliind him, and 

pausing 
Ever and anon to behold his glittering weapons of warfare. 
Hanging in shining array along the walls of the chamber, — 
Cutlass and corselet of steel, and liis trusty sword of Damas- 
cus, 
Curved at the point and inscribed with its mystical Arabic 

sentence. 
While underneath, in a corner, were fowling-piece, musket, 

and matchlock. 
Short of stature he was, but strongly built and atliletic. 
Broad in the shoulders, deep-chested, with muscles and sin- 
ews of iron; 
Brown as a nut was his face, but his russet beard was already 
Flaked with patches of snow, as hedges sometimes in Novem- 
ber. 
Near him was seated John Alden, his friend and household 

companion. 
Writing with diligent speed at a table of pine by the window; 
Fair-haired, azure-eyed, with delicate Saxon complexion. 



10 LONGFELLOW. 

Having the dew of his youth, and the beauty thereof, as the 
captives 

Whom Saint Gregory saw, and exclaimed, " Not Angles, but 
Angels." 

Youngest of all was he of the men who came m the May- 
flower. 

Suddenly breaking the silence, the diligent scribe interrupt- 
ing. 

Spake, in the pride of his heart. Miles Standish, the Captain 
of Plymouth.] 

( Curtain Rises. ) 
MILES. 

Look at these arms, my friend, the warlike weapons that 
hang here 

Burnished and bright and clean, as if for parade or in- 
spection ! 

This is the sword of Damascus I fought with in Flan- 
ders ; this breastplate. 

Well I remember the day ! once saved my life in a skir- 
mish ; 

Here in front you can see the very dint of the bullet 

Fired point-blank at my heart by a Spanish arcabucero. 

Had it not been of sheer steel, the forgotten bones of 
Miles Standish 

Would at this moment be mould, in their grave in the 
Flemish morasses. 

[Thereupon answered John Alden, but looked not up from 
his writing:] 

JOHN. 

Truly the breath of the Lord hath slackened the speed 

of the bullet ; 
He in his mercy preserved you, to be our shield and our 

weapon ! 

[Still the Captain continued, unheeding the words of the 
stripling:] 



COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH. H 

MILES. 

See, how bright they are burnished, as if in an arsenal 
hanging ; 

That is because I have clone it myself, and not left it 
to others. 

Serve yourself, would you be well served, is an excel- 
lent adage ; 

So I takfe care of my arms, as you of your pens and 
your inkhorn. 

Then, too, there are my soldiers, my great, invincible 
army. 

Twelve men, all equipped, having each his rest and his 
matchlock. 

Eighteen shillings a month, together with diet and pil- 
lage. 

And, like Caesar, I know the name of each of my sol- 
diers ! 

[This he said with a smile, that danced in his eyes, as the 
sunbeams 

Dance on the waves of the sea, and vanish again in a mo- 
ment. 

Alden laughed as he wrote, and still the Captain contin- 
ued:] 

Look ! you can see from this window my brazen howitzer 
planted 

High on the roof of the church, a preacher who speaks 
to the purpose, 

Steady, straightforward, and strong, with irresistible 
logic. 

Orthodox, flashing conviction right into the hearts of the 
heathen. 

Now we are- ready, I think, for any assault of the In- 
dians ; 



12 LONGFELLOW. 

Let them come, if tliey like, and the sooner they try it 

the better, — 
Let them come if they like, be it sagamore, sachem, or 

pow-wow, 
Aspinet, Samoset, Corbitant, Squanto, or Tokamahamon ! 

[Long at the window he stood, and wistfully gazed on the 
landscape, 

Washed with a cold gray mist, the vapory breath of the east- 
wind, 

Forest and meadow and hill, and the steel-blue rim of the 
ocean. 

Lying silent and sad, in the afternoon shadows and sunshine. 

Over his countenance flitted a shadow like those on the land- 
scape, 

Gloom intermingled with light; and his voice was subdued 
with emotion, 

Tenderness, pity, regret, as after a pause he proceeded:] 

Yonder there, on the hill by the sea, lies buried Rose 
Standish ; 

Beautiful rose of love, that bloomed for me by the way- 
side ! 

She was the first to die of all who came in the May- 
flower ! 

Green above her is growing the field of wheat we have 
sown there. 

Better to hide from the Indian scouts the graves of our 
people. 

Lest they should count them and see how many already 
have perished ! 

[Sadly his face he averted, and strode up and down, and was 
thoughtful. 

Fixed to the opposite wall was a shelf of books, and among 
them 

Prominent three, distinguished alike for bulk and for bind- 
ing; 

Bariffe's Artillery Guide, and the Commentaries of Caesar 



COURTSHIP OF MILES STAN DISH. 13 

Out of the Latin translated by Arthur Goldinge of London, 
And, as if guarded by these, between them was standing the 

Bible. 
Musing a moment before them. Miles Standish paused as if 

doubtful 
Which of the three he should choose for his consolation and 

comfort. 
Whether the wars of the Hebrews, the famous campaigns of 

the Romans, 
Or the Artillery practice, designed for belligerent Christians. 
Finally down from its shelf he dragged the ponderous Roman, 
Seated himself at the window, and opened the book, and in 

silence 
Turned o'er the well-worn leaves, where thumb-marks thick 

on the margin. 
Like the trample of feet, proclaimed the battle was hottest. 
Nothing was heard in the room but the hurrying pen of the 

stripling. 
Or an occasional sigh from the laboring heart of the Captain, 
Reading the marvellous words and achievements of Julius 

Cffisar. 
After awhile he exclaimed, as he smote with his hand, palm 

downwards. 
Heavily on the page :] 



MILES. 

A wonderful man was this Caesar! 
You are a writer, and I am a fighter, but here is a 

fellow 
Who could both write and fight, and in both was equally 

skilful ! 

JOHN. 

Yes, he was equally skilled, as you say, with his pen and 
his weapons. 

Somewhere have I read, but where I forget, he could 
dictate 

Seven letters at once, at the same time writing his mem- 
oirs. 



14 LONGFELLOW. 

[" Truly," continued the Captain, not heeding or hearing the 

other,] 

MILES. 

Truly a wonderful man was Caius Julius Caesar ! 

Better be first, he said, in a little Iberian village, 

Than be second in Rome, and I think he was right when 
he said it. 

Twice was he married before he was twenty, and many 
times after ; 

Battles five hundred he fought, and a thousand cities he 
conquered ; 

He, too, fought in Flanders, as he himself has recorded ; 

Finally he was stabbed by his friend, the orator Brutus ! 

Now, do you know what he did on a certain occasion 
in Flanders, 

"When the rear-guard of his army retreated, the front 
giving way too, 

And the immortal Twelfth Legion was crowded so 
closely together 

There was no room for their swords ? Why, he seized 
a shield from a soldier. 

Put himself straight at the head of his troops, and com- 
manded the captains. 

Calling on each by his name, to order forward the en- 
signs ; 

Then to widen the ranks and give more room for their 
weapons ; 

So he won the day, the battle of something-or-other. 

That 's what I always say ; if you wish a thing to be 
well done, 

You must do it yourself, you must not leave it to others ! 

[All was silent again; the Captain continued his reading. 



COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH. 15 

Nothing was heard m the room but the hurrying pen of the 

stripling 
Writing epistles important to go next day by the Mayflower, 
Filled with the name and the fame of the Puritan maiden 

Priscilla ; 
Finally closing his book, with a bang of the ponderous cover. 
Sudden and loud as the sound of a soldier grounding liis 

musket. 
Thus to the young man spake Miles Standish the Captain of 

Plymouth:] 



MILES. 

When you have finished your work, I have something 

important to tell you. 
Be not however in haste ; I can wait ; I shall not be 

impatient ! 

[Straightway Alden replied, as he folded the last of his let- 
ters. 
Pushing his papers aside, and giving respectful attention:] 



JOHN. 

Speak ; for whenever you speak, I am always ready to 
listen, 

Always ready to hear whatever pertains to Miles Stand- 
ish. 

[Thereupon answered the Captain, embarrassed, and culling 
his phrases:] 

MILES. 

'T is not good for a man to be alone, say the Scriptures. 
This I have said before, and again and again I repeat it ; 
Every hour in the day, I think it, and feel it, and say it. 
Since Rose Standish died, my life has been weary and 
dreary ; 



16 LONGFELLOW. 

Sick at heart have I been, beyond the healing of friend- 
ship. 
Oft in my lonely hours have I thought of the maiden 

Priscilla. 
She is alone in the world; her father and mother and 

brother'" ' 
Died in the winter together ; I saw her going and coming, 
Now to the grave of the dead, and now to the bed of 

the dying. 
Patient, courageous, and strong, and said to myself, that 

if ever 
There were angels on earth, as there are angels in 

heaven. 
Two have I seen and known ; and the angel whose name 

is Priscilla 
Holds in my desolate hfe the place which the other 

abandoned. 
Long have I cherished the thought, but never have 

dared to reveal it. 
Being a coward in this, though valiant enough for the 

most part. 
Go to the damsel Priscilla, the loveliest maiden of Ply- 
mouth, 
Say that a blunt old Captain, a man not of words but of 

actions, 
Offers his hand and his heart, the hand and heart of a 

soldier. 
Not in these words, you know, but this in short is my 

meaning ; 
I am a maker of war, and not a maker of phrases. 
You, who are bred as a scholar, can say it in elegant 

language, 
Such as you read in your books of the pleadings and 

wooings of lovers. 



COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH. 17 

Such as you think best adapted to win the heart of a 
maiden. 

[When he had spoken, John Aklen, the fair-haired, taciturn 
stripHng, 

All aghast at his words, surprised, embarrassed, bewildered, 

Trying to mask his dismay by treating the subject with light- 
ness. 

Trying to smile, and yet feeling his heart stand still in his 
bosom. 

Just as a timepiece stops in a house that is stricken by light- 
ning. 

Thus made answer and spake, or rather stammered than an- 
swered:] 

JOHN. 

Such a message as that, I am sure I should mangle and 

mar it ; 
If you would have it well done, — I am only repeating 

your maxim, — 
You must do it yourself, you must not leave it to others ! 

[But with the air of a man whom nothing can turn from his 
purpose. 

Gravely shaking his head, made answer the Captain of Ply- 
mouth:] 

MILES. 

Truly the maxim is good, and I do not mean to gainsay 

it; 
But we must use it discreetly, and not waste powder for 

nothing. 
Now, as I said before, I was never a maker of phrases. 
I can march up to a fortress and summon the place to 

surrender. 
But march ujj to a woman with such a proposal, I dare 

not. 

2 



18 LONGFELLO W. 

I 'm not afraid of bullets, nor shot from the mouth of a 
cannon, 

But of a thundering " No ! " point-blank from the mouth 
of a woman, 

That I confess I 'm afraid of, nor am I ashamed to con- 
fess it ! 

So you must grant my request, for you are an elegant 
scholar. 

Having the graces of speech, and skill in the turning of 
phrases. 



[Taking the hand of his friend, who still was reluctant and 

doubtful, 
Holduig it long in his own, and pressing it kindly, he added :] 



Though I have spoken thus lightly, yet deep is the feel- 
ing that prompts me ; 

Surely you cannot refuse what I ask in the name of our 
friendship ! 

JOHN. 

The name of friendship is sacred ; 
What you demand in that name, I have not the power 
to deny you ! 

MILES. 

So then I leave it to you, this errand of love to Priscilla. 
You will do it so well that the answer will be to my 

liking. [Exit Miles. 

[All around him was calm, but within him commotion and 

conflict, 
Love contending with friendship, and self with each generous 

impulse. 



COURTSHIP OF MILES STAN DISH. 19 

To and fro in liis breast his thoughts were heaving and dash- 
ing, ^ • 
As in a foundering ship, with every roll of the vessel. 
Washes the bitter sea, the merciless surge of the ocean! 
" Must I relinquish it all," he cried with a wild lamentation,] 



JOHN. 

Must I relinquish it all, the joy, the hope, the illu- 
sion? 

Was it for this I have loved, and waited, and worshipped 
in silence ? 

Was it for this I have followed the flying feet and the 
shadow 

Over the wintry sea, to the desolate shores of New 
England ? 

Truly the heart is deceitful, and out of its depths of cor- 
ruption 

Rise, like an exhalation, the misty phantoms of passion ; 

Angels of light they seem, but are only delusions of 
Satan. 

All is clear to me now ; I feel it, I see it distinctly ! 

This is the hand of the Lord; it is laid upon me in 
anger, 

For I have followed too much the heart's desires and de- 
vices. 

Worshipping Astaroth blindly, and impious idols of Baal. 

This is the cross I must bear ; the sin and the swift ret- 
ribution. [Looking at flowers on the table. 

Puritan flowers, fresh and pure like Puritan maidens, 

Modest and simple and sweet, the very type of Pris- 
ciUa ! 

So I will take them to her ; to Priscilla tlie Mayflower 
of Plymouth, 



20 LONGFELLOW. 

Modest and simple and sweet, as a parting gift will I 

take them ; 
Breathing their silent farewells, as they fade and wither 

and perish, 
Soon to be tlu'own away as is the heart of the giver. 

[Exit John, with flowers. Curtain falls. 



Scene II. Priscilla's House. 

Pkiscilla {at wiiidow). 

There is the shadowy form of the Mayflower riding at 
anchor. 

Rocked on the rising tide and ready to sail on the mor- 
row. 

Ready to sail on the morrow or next day at latest, God 
willing, 

Homeward bound with the tidings of all this terrible 

winter. [ Goes to the ivheel, and sings and spins. 



[Heard, as he drew near the door, the musical voice of Pris- 

cilla 
Singing the hundredth Psalm, the grand old Puritan anthem, 
Music that Luther sang to the sacred words of the Psalmist, 
Full of the breath of the Lord, consoling and comforting 

many. 
Then, as he opened the door, he beheld the form of the 

maiden 
Seated beside her wheel, and the carded wool like a snow- 
drift 
Piled at her knee, her white hands feeding the ravenous 

spindle, 
While with her foot on the treadle she guided the wheel in 

its motion. 
Open wide on her lap lay the well-worn psalm-book of Ains- 

worth, 



COURTSmP OF MILES STANDISH. 21 

Printed in Amsterdam, the words and the music together, 

Rough-liewn, angular notes, like stones in the wall of a 
churchyard, 

Darkened and overhung hy the running vine of the verses. 

Such was the book from whose pages she sang the old Pu- 
ritan anthem. 

She, the Puritan girl, in the solitude of the forest. 

Making the humble house and the modest apparel of home- 
spun 

Beautiful with her beauty, and rich with the wealth of her 
being ! 

Over him rushed, like a wind that is keen and cold and relent- 
less. 

Thoughts of what might have been, and the weight and woe 
of his errand ; 

All the dreams that had faded, and all the hopes that had 
vanished. 

All his life henceforth a dreary and tenantless mansion, 

Haunted by vain regrets, and pallid, sorrowful faces. 

Still he said to himself, and almost fiercely he said it, 

" Let not him that putteth his hand to the plough look back- 
wards ; 

Though the ploughshare cut through the flowers of life to its 
fountains. 

Though it pass o'er the graves of the dead and the hearths of 
the living, 

It is the will of the Lord ; and his mercy endureth forever ! " 

So he entered the house ; and the hum of the wheel and the 
smging 

Suddenly ceased ; for Priscilla, aroused by his step on the 
threshold, 

Rose as he entered, and gave him her hand, in signal of wel- 
come.] [John enters. 

PRISCILLA. 

John, I knew it was you, when I heard your step in the 

passage ; 
For I was thinking of you, as I sat there singing and 

spinning. 



[Awkward and dumb with delight, that a thought of liim had 
been mmffled 



22 LONGFELLO W. 

Thus in the sacred psalm, that came from the heart of the 

maiden, 
Silent before her he stood, and gave her the fiowers for an 

answer, 
Finding no words for his thought.] 

[Priscilla points to a chair, and both sit. 



PRISCILLA. 

I have been thinking all day, 
Dreaming all night, and thinking all day, of the hedge- 
rows of England, — 
They are in blossom now, and the country is all like a 

garden ; 
Thinking of lanes and fields, and the song of the lark 

and the linnet. 
Seeing the village street, and familiar faces of neighbors 
Going about as of old, and stopping to gossip together, 
And, at the end of the street, the village church, with 

the ivy 
Climbing the old gray tower, and the quiet graves in the 

churchyard. 
Kind are the people I live with, and dear to me my 

religion ; 
Still my heart is so sad, that I wish myself back in Old 

England. 
You will say it is wrong, but I cannot help it : I almost 
Wish myself back in Old England, I feel so lonely and 

wretched. 

JOHN. 

Indeed I do not condemn you; 
Stouter hearts than a woman's have quailed in this ter- 
rible winter. 



COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH. 23 

Yours is tender and trusting, and needs a stronger to 
lean on ; 

So I have come to you now, with an offer and proffer of 
marriage 

Made by a good man and true, Miles Standish the Cap- 
tain of Plymouth ! 

[Thus he delivered his message, the dexterous writer of let- 
ters, — 

Did not embellish the theme, nor array it in beautiful phrases, 

But came straight to the point, and blurted it out like a 
school-boy ; 

Even the Captam himself could hardly have said it more 
bluntly. 

Mute with amazement and sorrow, Priscilla the Puritan 
maiden 

Looked into Alden's face, her eyes dilated with wonder. 

Feeling his words like a blow, that stumied her and rendered 
her speechless ; 

Till at length she exclaimed, interrupting the ominous si- 
lence :] 

PKISCILLA. 

If the great Captain of Plymouth is so very eager to 

wed me, 
Why does he not come himself, and take the trouble to 

woo me ? 
If I am not worth the wooing, I surely am not worth 

the winning ! 

[Then John Alden began explaining and smoothing the mat- 
ter. 

Making it worse as he went, by saying the Captain was 
busy.] 

JOHN. 

You know the Captain is busy; has no time for such 
things. 



24 LONGFELLOW. 

[Had no time for such things ; — such things ! the words 

grating harshly 
Fell on the ear of Priscilla ; and swift as a flash she made 

answer :] 

PRISCILLA. 

Has he no time for such things, as you call it, before he 
is married, 

Would he be likely to find it, or make it, after the wed- 
ding? 

That is the way with you men ; you don't understand us, 
you cannot. 

When you have made up your minds, after tliinking of 
this one and that one. 

Choosing, selecting, rejecting, comparing one with an- 
other. 

Then you make known your desire, with abrupt and 
sudden avowal. 

And are offended and hurt, and indignant perhaps, that 
a woman 

Does not respond at once to a love that she never sus- 
pected. 

Does not attain at a bound the height to which you have 
been climbing. 

This is not right nor just : for surely a woman's affec- 
tion 

Is not a thing to be asked for, and had for only the 
asking. 

When one is truly in love, one not only says it, but 
shows it. 

Had he but waited awhile, had he only showed that he 
loved me, 

Even this Captain of yours — who knows ? — at last 
might have won me. 

Old and rough as he is ; but now it never can happen. 



COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH. 25 

[Still John Alden went on, unheeding the words of Priscilla, 
Urging the suit of his friend, explaining, persuadmg, expand- 
ing :] 

JOHN. 

• 

Think of his courage and skill, and of all his battles in 
Flanders, 

How with the people of God he has chosen to suffer af- 
fliction, 

How, in return for his zeal, they have made him Captain 
of Plymouth ; 

He is a gentleman born, can trace his pedigree plainly 

Back to Hugh Standish of Duxbury Hall, in Lanca- 
shire, England, 

Who was the son of Ralph, and the grandson of Thurs- 
ton de Standish ; 

Heir unto vast estates, of which he was basely defrauded, 

Still bears the family arms, and has for his crest a cock 
argent 

Combed and wattled gules, and all the rest of the blazon. 

He is a man of honor, of noble and generous nature ; 

Though he is rough, he is kindly ; you know how during 
the winter 

He has attended the sick, with a hand as gentle as 
woman's ; 

Somewhat hasty and hot, I cannot deny it, and head- 
strong. 

Stern as a soldier may be, but hearty, and placable al- 
ways, 

Not to be laughed at and scorned, because he is little of 
stature ; 

For he is great of heart, magnanimous, courtly, coura- 
geous ; 

Any woman in Plymouth, nay, any woman in England, 



26 LONGFELLOW. 

Might be happy and proud to be called the wife of Miles 
Standish ! 

[But as lie warmed and glowed, iu his simple and eloquent 

language, 
Quite forgetful of self, and full of the praise of his rival, 
Archly the maiden smiled, and, with eyes overrunning with 

laughter. 
Said in a tremulous voice :] 

PKISCILLA. 
Why don't you speak for yourself, John ? 

[Exit John. Curtain falls. 

[Into the open air John Alden, perplexed and bewildered, 
bushed like a man insane, and wandered alone by the sea- 
side.] 



Scene III. StandisNs House. 

( Curtain rises upon Miles. John enters.) 

[Soon he entered his door, and found the redoubtable Captain 
Sitting alone, and absorbed in the martial pages of Csesar, 
Fighting some great campaign in Hainault or Brabant or 
Flanders.] 

MILES. 

Long have you been on your errand, 

[he said with a cheery demeanor. 
Even as one who is waiting an answer and fears not the issue.] 

Not far off is the house, although the woods are between 

us; 
But you have lingered so long, that while you were going 

and coming 



COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDI SH. 27 

I have fought ten battles and sacked and demolished a 

city. 
Come, sit down, and in order relate to me all that has 

happened. 

JOHN. 

Friend! as you asked me I went straightway to the 
maiden Priscilla : 

Spoke of your courage and skill, of all your battles in 
Flanders ; 

How with the people of God you had chosen to suffer 
affliction. 

How ill return for your zeal they had made you Captain 
of Plymouth ; 

Said you were a gentleman born, could trace your ped- 
igree even 

Back to Hugh Standish of Duxbury Hall in Lancashire, 
England ; 

Were heir of vast estates of which you were basely de- 
frauded. 

All this I urgently spoke and much more to the purpose. 

But when I came to a pause and anxiously waited her 
answer, 

Archly the maiden smiled, and, with eyes overrunning 
with laughter, 

Said in a tremulous voice, " Why don't you speak for 
yourself, John ? " 

[Up leaped the Captain of Plymouth, and stamped on the 

floor, till his armor 
Clanged on the wall, where it hmig, with a sound of sinister 

omen. 
All his pent-up wrath burst forth in a sudden explosion, 
E'en as a hand-grenade, that scatters destruction around it. 
Wildly he shouted and loud :] 



28 LONGFELLOW. 

MILES. 

John Alden ! you have betrayed me ! 

Me, Miles Standish, your friend ! have suj^planted, de- 
frauded, betrayed me ! 

One of my ancestors ran his sword through the heart of 
Wat Tyler ; 

Who shall prevent me from running my own through the 
heart of a traitor ? 

Yours is the greater treason, for yours is a treason to 
friendship ! 

You, who lived under my roof, whom I cherished and 
loved as a brother ; 

You, who have fed at my board, and drunk at my cuj), 
to whose keeping 

I have intrusted my honor, my thoughts the most sacred 
and secret, — 

You too, Brutus ! ah woe to the name of friendship here- 
after ! 

Brutus was Caesar's friend, and you were mine, but 
henceforward 

Let there be nothing between us save war, and imj)la- 
cable hatred ! [ExU John. 



[So spake the Captain of Plymouth, and strode about in the 
chamber, 

Chafing and choking with rage ; like cords were the veins on 
his temples. 

But in the midst of his anger a man appeared at the door- 
way :] 

{Enter Messenger.) 

MESSENGER. 

I bring in uttermost haste a message of urgent impor- 
tance, 



COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH. 29 

Rumors of danger and war and hostile incursions of In- 
dians ! 

The council now is assembled impatiently waiting your 
coming ; 

Talking of this and of that, contriving, suggesting, de- 
bating, 

What were an answer befitting a signal and challenge of 
warfare 

Brought by an Indian who stands statue-like waiting an 
answer. 

MILES. 

Go ! tell them I 'm coming at once. I '11 not keep them 

waiting. [ExU Messenger. 

[Took from the nail on the wall his sword with its scabbard 
of iron, 

Buckled the belt round his waist, and, frowning fiercely, de- 
parted.] [Exit Miles. Curtain/alls. 



ScEisTE lY. B^oom in Puritan House. The Council. 

[Meanwhile the choleric Captain strode wrathful away to the 
council, 

Found it already assembled, impatiently waiting his coming ; 

Men in the middle of life, austere and grave in deportment, 

Only one of them old, the hill that was nearest to heaven. 

Covered with snow, but erect, the excellent Elder of Ply- 
mouth. 

God had sifted three kingdoms to find the wheat for this 
planting, 

Then had sifted the wheat, as the living seed of a nation ; 

So say the chronicles old, and such is the faith of the people ! 

Near them was standmg an Indian, in attitude stern and de- 
fiant. 

Naked down to the waist, and grim and ferocious in aspect ; 



30 LONGFELLOW. 

While on the table before them was lymg unopened a Bible, 

Ponderous, bound in leather, brass-studded, printed in Hol- 
land, 

And beside it outstretched the skin of a rattlesnake glittered, 

Filled, like a quiver, with arrows : a signal and challenge of 
warfare. 

Brought by the Indian, and speaking with arrowy tongues of 
defiance. 

This Miles Standish beheld, as he entered, and heard them 
debating 

What were an answer befitting the hostile message and 
menace. 

Talking of tliis and of that, contriving, suggesting, objecting; 

One voice only for peace, and that the voice of the Elder.] 

{3Iiles enters as the curtain rises.) 
ELDER. 

I judge it wise and well that some at least were con- 
verted, 

Rather than any were slain, for this was but Christian 
behavior ! 

[Then out spake Miles Standish, the stalwart Captain of 

Plymouth, 
Muttering deep in his throat, for his voice was husky with 

anger :] 

MILES. 

What ! do you mean to make war with milk and the 

water of roses ? 
Is it to shoot red squirrels you have your howitzer 

planted 
There on the roof of the church, or is it to shoot red 

devils ? 
Truly the only tongue that is understood by a savage 
Must be the tongue of fire that speaks from the mouth 

of the cannon ! 

[Thereupon answered and said the excellent Elder of Ply- 
mouth, 
Somewhat amazed and alarmed at this irreverent language :] 



COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH. 31 

ELDER. 

Not SO thought Saint Paul, nor yet the other Apostles ; 
Not from the cannon's mouth were the tongues of fire 
they spake with ! 

[But unheeded fell this mild rebuke on the Captain, 
Who had advanced to the table, and thus continued discours- 
ing :] 

MILES. 

Leave tliis matter to me, for to me by right it pertaineth. 

War is a terrible trade ; but in the cause that is right- 
eous, 

Sweet is the smell of powder ; and thus I answer the 
challenge ! 

[Then from the rattlesnake's skin, with a sudden, contemptu- 
ous gesture, 

Jerking the Indian arrows, he filled it with powder and bul- 
lets 

Full to the very jaws, and handed it back to the savage, 

Saying, in thundering tones :] 

Here, take it ! this is your answer ! 

[Silently out of the room then glided the glistening savage, 
Bearing the serpent's skin, and seeming himself like a serpent, 
Wmding his sinuous way in the dark to the depths of the 
forest.] [ Curtain falls. 



32 LONGFELLOW. 

Scene V. Out of Doors. 

( Curtain rises on John. ) 

[Paced up and down the sands, and bared his head to the 

east-wind, 
Cooling his heated brow, and the fire and fever withm him. 
Slowly, as out of the heavens, with apocalyptical splendors, 
Sank the City of God, in the vision of John the Apostle, 
So, with its cloudy walls of chrysolite, jasper, and sappliire, 
Sank the broad red sun, and over its turrets uplifted 
Glimmered the golden reed of the angel who measured the 

city. 
" Welcome, O wind of the East ! " he exclaimed in his wild 

exultation,] 

JOHN. 

Welcome, O wind of the East, from the caves of the 

misty Atlantic ! 
Blowing o'er fields of dulse, and measureless meadows 

of sea-grass, 
Blowing o'er rocky wastes, and the grottos and gardens 

of ocean ! 
Lay thy cold, moist hand on my burning forehead, and 

wrap me 
Close in thy garments of mist, to allay the fever within 

me ! 

[Like an awakened conscience, the sea was moaning and toss- 
ing, 

Beating remorseful and loud the mutable sands of the sea- 
shore. 

Fierce in his soul was the struggle and tumult of passions 
contendmg; 

Love triumphant and crowned, and friendship wounded and 
bleeding. 

Passionate cries of desire, and importunate pleadings of duty !] 



COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH. 33 

Is it my fault, that the maiden has chosen between us ? 
Is it my fault that he failed, — my fault that I am the 
victor ? 

[Then within him there thundered a voice, like the voice of 
the Prophet : 

" It hath displeased the Lord ! " — and he thought of David's 
transgression, 

Bathsheba's beautiful face, and liis friend in the front of the 
battle ! 

Shame and confusion of guilt, and abasement and self-con- 
demnation. 

Overwhelmed him at once; and he cried in the deepest con- 
trition :] 

It hath displeased the Lord! It is the temptation of 

Satan ! 
Yes, it is plain to me now, the hand of the Lord is 
Leading me out of the land of darkness, the bondage of 

error. 
Through the sea, that shall lift the ^walls of its waters 

around me. 
Hiding me, cutting me off, from the cruel thoughts that 

pursue me. 
Back will I go o'er the ocean, this dreary land will 

abandon. 
Her whom I may not love, and him whom my heart has 

offended. 
Better to be in my grave in the green old churchyard 

in England, 
Close by my mother's side, and among the dust of my 

kindred ; 
Better be dead and forgotten, than living in shame and 

dishonor ! 
Yonder snow-white cloud, that floats in the ether above 

me, 



34 LONGFELLOW. 

Seems like a hand that is pointing and beckoning over 
the ocean. 

There is another hand that is not so spectral and ghost- 
like, 

Holding me, drawing me back, and clasping mine for 
protection. 

Float, O hand of cloud, and vanish avs^ay in the ether ! 

Roll thyself up like a fist, to threaten and daunt me ; I 
heed not 

Either your warning or menace, or any omen of evil ! 

There is no land so sacred, no air so pure and so whole- 
some. 

As the air she breathes, and the soil that is pressed by 
her footsteps. 

Here for her sake will I stay, and like an invisible pres- 
ence 

Hover around her forever, protecting, supporting her 
weakness ; 

Yes ! as my foot was the first that stepped on this rock 
at the landing. 

So, with the blessing of God, shall it be the last at the 
leaving ! 

[Lo ! as he turned to depart, Priscilla was standing beside 
him.] 

{Enter Priscilla.) 
PRISCILLA. 

Are you so much offended, you will not speak to me, 

John Alden ? 
Am I so much to blame, that yesterday, when you were 

pleading 
Warmly the cause of another, my heart, impulsive and 

wayward, 



COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH. 35 

Pleaded your own, and spake out, forgetful perhaps of 
decorum ? 

Certainly you can forgive me for speaking so frankly, 
for ^ying 

What I ought not to have said, yet now I can never un- 
say it ; 

For there are moments in life, when the heart is so full 
of emotion. 

That if by chance it be shaken, or into its depths like 
a pebble 

Drops some careless word, it overflows, and its secret, 

Spilt on the ground like water, can never be gathered tOr 
gether. 

Yesterday I was shocked, when I heard you speak of 
Miles Standish, 

Praising his virtues, transforming his very defects into 
virtues, 

Praising his courage and strength, and even his fighting 
in Flanders, 

As if by fighting alone you could win the heart of a 
woman, 

Quite overlooking yourself and the rest, in exalting your 
hero. 

Therefore I spake as I did, by an irresistible impulse. 

You will forgive me, I hope, for the sake of the friend- 
ship between us, 

Which is too true and too sacred to be so easily broken ! 

JOHN. 

I was not angry with you, with myself alone I was an- 
gry, 

Seeing how badly I managed the matter I had in my 
keeping. 



36 LONGFELLOW, 

[" No ! " interrupted the maiden, with answer prompt and 
decisive ;] 



PRISCILLA. 

No ; you were angry with me, for speaking so frankly 
and freely. 

It was wrong, I acknowledge ; for it is the fate of a 
woman 

Long to be patient and silent, to wait like a ghost that 
is speechless, 

Till some questioning voice dissolves the spell of its si- 
lence. 

Hence is the inner life of so many suffering women 

Sunless and silent and deep, like subterranean rivers 

Running through caverns of darkness, unheard, unseen, 
and unfruitful, 

Chafing their channels of stone, with endless and profit- 
less murmurs. 

JOHN. 

Heaven forbid it, Priscilla ; and truly they seem to me 

always 
More like the beautiful rivers that watered the garden 

of Eden, 
More like the river Euphrates, through deserts of Hav- 

ilah flowing. 
Filling the land with delight, and memories sweet of the 

garden ! 

PRISCILLA. 

Ah, by these words, I can see, 
How very little you prize me, or care for what I am 
saying. 



COURTSHIP OF MILES STAN DISH. 37 

When from the depths of my heart, in jDain and with 

secret misgiving, 
Frankly I sjjeak to you, asking for sympathy only and 

kindness, 
Straightway you take up my words, that are plain and 

direct and in earnest, 
Turn them away from their meaning, and answer with 

flattering phrases. 
This is not right, is not just, is not true to the best that 

is in you ; 
For I know and esteem you, and feel that your nature 

is noble, 
Lifting mine up to a higher, a more ethereal level. 
Therefore I value your friendshi]), and feel it perhaps 

the more keenly 
If you say aught that implies I am only as one among 

many, 
If you make use of those common and complimentary 

phrases 
Most men think so fine, in dealing and speaking with 

women. 
But which women reject as insipid, if not as insulting. 

[Mute and amazed was Alden ; and listened and looked at 
Priscilla, 

Thinking he never had seen her more fair, more divine in her 
beauty. 

He who but yesterday pleaded so glibly the cause of an- 
other, 

Stood there embarrassed and silent, and seeking in vain for 
an answer. 

So the maiden went on, and little divined or imagined 

What was at work in his heart, that made him so awkward 
and speecliless.] 

Let us, then, be what we are, and speak what we think, 
and in all things 



38 LONGFELLOW. 

Keep ourselves loyal to truth, and the sacred professions 
of friendship. 

It is no secret I tell you, nor am I ashamed to declare it : 

I have liked to be with you, to see you, to sj)eak with 
you always. 

So I was hurt at your words, and a little affronted to 
hear you 

Urge me to marry your friend, though he were the Cap- 
tain Miles Standish. 

For I must tell you the truth : much more to me is your 
friendship 

Than all the love he could give, were he twice the hero 
you think him. 

[Then she extended her hand, and Alden, who eagerly 
grasped it, 

Felt all the wounds m his heart, that were aching and bleed- 
ing so sorely, 

Healed by the touch of that hand, and he said, with a voice 
full of f eehng :] 

JOHN. 

Yes, we must ever be friends ; and of all who offer you 

friendship 
Let me be ever the first, the truest, the nearest and 

dearest ! 

[Casting a farewell look at the glimmering sail of the May- 
flower, 

Distant, but still in sight, and sinking below the horizon, 

Homeward together they walked, with a strange, indefinite 
feeling, 

That all the rest had departed and left them alone in the 
desert. 

But, as they went through the fields in the blessing and smile 
of the sunshine. 

Lighter grew their hearts, and Priscilla said very archly :] 



COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH. 39 

PRISCILLA. 

Now that our terrible Captain has gone in pursuit of the 

Indians, 
Where he is hajDpier far than he would be commanding 

a household, 
You may speak boldly, and tell me of all that happened 

between you, 
When you returned last night, and said how ungrateful 

you found me. [Exit both. Curtain fails. 



Scene VI. Room in Priscilla's House. 

( Curtain rises on John and Priscilla.) 

[So as she sat at her wheel one afternoon in the Autumn, 
Alden, who opposite sat, and was watching her dexterous 

fingers, 
As if the thread she was spinning were that of his life and 

liis fortune, 
After a pause in their talk, thus spake to the sound of the 

spindle :] 

JOHN. 

When I sit, Priscilla, and see you spinning and spinning, 
Never idle a moment, but thrifty and thoughtful of 

others. 
Suddenly you are transformed, are visibly changed in 

a moment ; 
You are no longer Priscilla, but Bertha the Beautiful 

Spinner. 

[Here the light foot on the treadle grew swifter and swifter ; 
the spindle 



40 LONGFELLOW. 

Uttered an angry snarl, and the thread snapped short in her 
fingers ; 

While the impetuous speaker, not heeding the mischief, con- 
tinued :] 

You are the beautiful Bertha, the spinner, the queen of 

Helvetia ; 
She whose story I read at a stall in the streets of South- 
ampton, 
Who, as she rode on her palfrey, o'er valley and meadow 

and mountain, 
Ever was spinning her thread from a distaff fixed to 

her saddle. 
She was so thrifty and good, that her name passed into 

a proverb. 
So shall it be with your own, when the spinning-wheel 

shall no longer 
Hum in the house of the farmer, and fidl its chambers 

with music. 
Then shall the mothers, reproving, relate how it was in 

their childhood. 
Praising the good old times, and the days of Priscilla 

the spinner ! 

[Straight uprose from her wheel the beautiful Puritan 
maiden. 

Pleased with the praise of her thrift from him whose praise 
was the sweetest, 

Drew from the reel on the table a snowy skein of her spin- 
ning, 

Thus makmg answer, meanwhile, to the flattering phrases of 
Alden :] 

PRISCILLA. 

Come, you must not be idle ; if I am a pattern for 
housewives, 



COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDI SH. 41 

Show yourself equally worthy of being the model of hus- 
bands. 

Hold this skein on your hands, while I wind it, ready 
for .knitting ; 

Then who knows but hereafter, when fashions have 
changed and the manners. 

Fathers may talk to their sons of the good old times of 
John Alden ! 

[Thus, with a jest and a laugh, the skein on his hands she 
adjusted, 

He sitting awkwardly there, with his arms extended before 
him, 

She standing graceful, erect, and winding the thread from 
his fingers. 

Sometimes chiding a little his clumsy mamier of holding, 

Sometimes touching his hands, as she disentangled expertly 

Twist or knot in the yarn, unawares — for how could she 
help it? — 

Sending electric thrills through every nerve in his body. 

Lo ! m the midst of this scene, a breatldess messenger en- 
tered.] 

(Enter Messenger.) 
MESSENGER. 

I bring sad news from the village. 

Yes ; Miles Standish is dead ! — an Indian has brought 
us the tidings, — ■ 

Slain by a poisoned arrow, shot down in the front of the 
battle, 

Into an ambush beguiled, cut off with the whole of his 
forces ; 

All the town will be burned, and all the people be mur- 
dered ! 

[Such were the tidings of evil that burst on the hearts of the 
hearers. 

Silent and statue-like stood Priscilla, her face looking back- 
ward 



42 LONGFELLO \V. 

Still at the face of the speaker, her arms uplifted in liorror ; 

But ,Iohu Aldou, upstarting, as if the barb of the arrow 

Piercing the heart of his friend had struck his own, and had 
sundered 

Once and forever the bonds that held him bound as a captive, 

Wild with excess of sensation, the awful delight of his free- 
dom, 

Mingled with pain and regret, unconscious of what he was 
doing. 

Clasped, almost with a groan, the motionless form of Pris- 
cilla; 

Pressing her close to his heart, as forever his own, and ex- 
claiming :] 

JOHN. 
Those whom the Lord hath united, let no man put them 

asunder! [Curtain fails. 



Scene VII. Boom in a Puritan House. 

( The curtain rises on the end of the wedding, just as John and Priscilla, hand in 
hafid, are receiving the blessing of the Elder, who stands before them with up- 
lifted hands.) 

[This was the wedding morn of Priscilla the Puritan maiden. 

Friends were assembled together ; the Elder and Magistrate 
also 

Graced the scene with their presence, and stood like the Law 
and the Gospel. 

Lo ! when the service was ended, a form appeared on the 
threshold. 

Clad in armor of steel, a sombre and sorrowful figure ! 

Why does the bridegroom start and stare at the strange ap- 
parition ? 

Why does the bride turn pale, and hide her face on his 
shoidder ? 

Is it a phantom of air, — a bodiless, spectral illusion ? 

Is it a ghost from the grave, that has come to forbid the be- 
trothal ? 

Long had it stood there unseen, a guest uninvited, unwel- 
comed ; 



COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH. 4ii 

Over its clouded eyes there had passed at times an expression 

Softening the gloom and revealing the warm heart hidden 
beneath them, 

As when across the sky the driving rack of the rain-cloud 

Grows for a«moment tlun, and betrays the sun by its brightness. 

Once it had lifted its hand, and moved its lips, but was si- 
lent, 

As if an iron will had mastered the fleeting intention. 

But when were ended the troth and the prayer and the last 
benediction, 

Into the room it strode, and the people beheld with amaze- 
ment 

Bodily there in his armor Miles Standish, the Captain of 
Plymouth ! 

Grasping the bridegroom's hand, he said with emotion :] 



MILES. 

Forgive me ! 
I have been angry and hurt, — too long have I cherished 

the feeling ; 
I have been cruel and hard, but no%v, thank God ! it is 

ended. 
Mine is the same hot blood that leaped in the veins of 

Hugh Standish, 
Sensitive, swift to resent, but as swift in atoning for 

error. 
Never so much as now was Miles Standish the friend of 

John Alden. 

JOHN. 

Let all be forgotten between us, — 
All save the dear, old friendship, and that shall grow 
older and dearer ! 

[Then the Captain advanced, and, bowing, saluted Priscilla, 
Gravely, and after the manner of old-fashioned gentry in 

England, 
Something of camp and of court, of towa. and of country, 

commingled :] 



44 LONGFELLO W. 

MILES. 

I wish you joy of your wedding, you and your husband, 
John Alden. 

[Then he said with a smile :] 

I shouhl have remembered the adage, — 
If you would be well served, you must serve yourself ; 

and moreover, 
No man can gather cherries in Kent at the season of 

Christmas! [Cunain fails. 



Miles Standish was not inconsolable. In the Fortune came 
a certam Barbara, whose last name is unknown, whom Stand- 
ish married. He had six children, and many of his descend- 
ants are now living. His son, Alexander Standish, married 
Sarah, the daughter of Jolm Alden. There are doubtless 
many people now living who can claim both John Alden and 
Miles Standish for ancestors. 



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Prof. Russell has rewritten, revised, enlarged, 
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It recognizes the all-important fact that true elocutionary cul- 
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2. William Fitt. B/T. B. Ma- 

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WORKS OF 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 

> 

POETICAL WORKS. Cambridge Edition. Revised and com- 
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The last five editions of Longfellows Poems do not include the dramatic 
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PROSE WORKS. Complete. Cambridge Edition. Uniform 
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Afterm.\th 1.50 

The Masque of Pandora 1.50 

Keramos, AND Other Poems 1.25 

Ultima Thule 1,00 

In the Harbor. Ultima Thule, 

Part II 1.00 



Kavanagh f 1.50 

Hyperion 1.50 

Popular Edition, paper, ,. .15 
cloth ... .40 

Outre-Mer 1.50 

Popular Edition, paper... .15 
cloth . . , .40 
The Hanging of the Crane. Il- 
lustrated 3.00 

The Same. 12 Illustrations 1.50 

The Building of the Ship. Illus- 
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€l)t MiUt^iU literature ^erie^» 

Averaging about yo pages. 
EACH NUMBER 15 CENTS. 



1. Longfellow's Evangeline. 

With Biographical Sketch, Historical Sketch, and Notes. 

2. Longfellow's Courtship of Miles Stand- 

ish. With Notes. 

3. Longfellow's Courtship of Miles Stand- 

ish. Dramatized, for private theatricals in schools and 
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4. Whittier's Snow-Bound and Among the 

Hills. With Notes. 

5. Whittier's Mabel Martin, Cobbler Kee- 

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Other Poems. With Biographical Sketch and Notes. 

7. Hawthorne's True Stories from New 

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Part I. With Questions. 

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Part HI. With Questions. 

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Cromwell, Benjamin Franklin, Queen Christina. With 
Questions. 

Other numbers in preparation. 

^^ Full Educational Catalogue sent free to any 
address. 

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4 PARK STREET, BOSTON, MASS. 






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